Stupid, Illogical Love
by Forever-Tangled
Summary: Walter wasn't knocked out when Paige professed her feelings towards him. Post- season 1 finale, so don't read if you haven't seen the episode yet! Rated K. Short one shot that's probably overdone already, but I couldn't help myself. :} Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the laptop I'm writing this on.


**A/N: I know there's probably an influx of these kinds of stories right now, but I'm jumping right into the mix anyway! How could I ****_not_****?! Oh my goodness, the season finale was spectacular. Anyway, don't read this unless you want a major spoiler for said season finale!**

Paige Dineen's soft lips left Walter's, and she smoothed his curly dark hair away from his bruised forehead. She wanted to be furious with him. Ralph had been so afraid for him. But she couldn't possibly be mad at the sleeping man before her, the one hooked up to so many machines at the moment. Plus, her silly feelings got in the way of hating him, anyhow. She sighed, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs as she realized how tired she was. She jiggled her foot as the adrenaline rush from the insane day finally wore out.

Walter suppressed the smile that wanted to grow across his face. Morphine had never really worked as a painkiller for him. Just made him dreary and certainly did not dull his pain, but he was fairly certain that he had not imagined the kiss, the gentle words Paige had spoken to him. He focused on ensuring that his breathing was even, so she would still think he was asleep. But then he couldn't stand it anymore. He peeled an eye open and saw how pale her face was - she was finally relaxing from the intense day, and was likely about to pass out.  
"You're coming off of a high-tension day, Paige," he tried to clear his throat to ease the gravelly quality, with no success, "and you're likely to feel tired all of a sudden, maybe a little lightheaded. If you do feel lightheaded, and I think you probably do, you'll want to put your head between your knees. It sounds kind of, ah, odd, but it will help."

Paige stared at him, her blood running cold at the thought that maybe he had heard her or felt the kiss. Oh geez, what would she do now? The idea of it made her stomach roll with embarrassment. She followed his instructions. "How are you awake right now?" she asked, her voice muffled as it was directed to the floor, not to him.  
"Morphine never works for me," he said. "I only pretended until the nurse left. Didn't want her shooting me up more. It just makes me groggy. Leave your head between your knees until any dizziness, ear-ringing, so on and so forth, stops. Okay?"  
"Okay," she agreed, swallowing a few times. She didn't even ask - she knew he knew.

Walter swallowed in hopes of soothing his raspy throat, his mind racing back and forth with thoughts. Toby had figured it out, apparently - he used 'walks down memory lane' to explain his love for people. Not romantic, of course, but as friends. Family. He wished he could explain to Paige exactly how much he cared for her, too - in the romantic way, he supposed - but he didn't quite understand it. Love being such an illogical thing, after all - how could the mere presence of someone make one's spine tingle, stomach flutter, and a warm feeling spread? Surely, scientific and biological reasons were out there, but how could one person see one specific person and trigger these responses? He couldn't understand it, certainly. That was for the psychiatrist...who had already failed at explaining it to him on multiple counts.  
"Paige?" he asked. "Are you okay?"  
She slowly sat back up. "I think, yeah. Thanks," she said quietly.  
He sucked on his upper lip. "You know that time when.."  
"You don't have to take me down memory lane, Walter," Paige smiled through the darkness, reaching out to pat his hand.

He held back a huff of frustration and instead caused a cough, which only wracked his aching body more anyway. Why couldn't he just say it? Three simple words - simple vibrations of his rusty-feeling larynx. But to him, he couldn't understand nor explain them, and therefore, he hated them. But how else would she know? "I, ah, care for you quite a bit, Paige. Ralph as well."  
Paige's face darkened with a red flush, and she hid a smile behind a few fingers. "You can tell Ralph tomorrow, if you're up to it. Get some sleep, okay?"


End file.
